Cytoskeletal organization of the osteoclast (OC), which is central to the capacity of the cell to resorb bone, is induced by occupancy of the ␣v3 integrin or the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) receptor c-Fms. In both circumstances, the tyrosine kinase Syk is an essential signaling intermediary.
OCs2 are multinucleated cells generated by fusion of mononuclear progenitors of the monocyte/macrophage family under the aegis of M-CSF and receptor activator of nuclear factor B ligand (RANKL) (1). Upon mineralized matrix recognition, the OC polarizes its fibrillar actin, eventuating in the formation of an acidified extracellular microenvironment that degrades bone. Failure to undergo this polarization event results in OC hypo-function and consequently in varying degrees of osteopetrosis (2).Integrins are transmembrane ␣/ heterodimers that mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and generate intracellular signals when occupied by ligands (3). The integrin, ␣v3, is expressed by OCs, and binding of this complex to bone is pivotal to the resorptive process (4).M-CSF recognizes its transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Fms, and induces receptor autophosphorylation at seven tyrosine residues within the cytoplasmic domain (5). Several Src homology-2 domain-containing molecules are recruited to the phosphotyrosine residues upon M-CSF binding and initiate signaling cascades that lead to cytoskeletal organization, survival, and proliferation of OC lineage cells (5-7). Both the ␣v3 integrin and M-CSF are important regulators of OC actin remodeling (4,6,8).Syk is a 72-kDa nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, which mediates ␣v3-and c-Fms-induced OC cytoskeletal organization and function in a phosphorylation-dependent manner via a process involving activation of associated adaptor proteins, such as SLP-76 and Vav3 (9, 10). A number of Syk tyrosine residues undergo phosphorylation following engagement of the integrin and Fc␥ receptor in immune (11) Cbl is a 120-kDa protein that is tyrosine-phosphorylated following activation by growth factors, cytokines, and integrins. It has two distinct but related activities, serving both as an adaptor protein (17, 18) and E3 ubiquitin ligase (19, 20). Cbl functions principally as an adaptor in OCs by participating in signaling complexes that are important in the assembly and remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton (18,21). In other cell types, Cbl is also a negative regulator of receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, as it promotes their degradation (22). OCs and their precursors express c-Cbl and another family member Cbl-b that compensates for the absence of c-Cbl (23, 24). As combined deletion of both isoforms eventuates in early embryonic lethality (24), it is not clear if c-Cbl functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase in OCs. We establish that c-Cbl, recognizing Syk Y317 , prompts the ubiquitination of the kinases thereby arresting activation of cytoskeleton-organizing molecules and thus OC function. The Cbl-Syk Y317 complex is therefore important in maintenance of normal ...